Ontario Conservative Party and Faith Based Schools – JH Westen and J Jalsevac

TORONTO, June 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an attempt to attract votes in the upcoming October 10 provincial election, the Opposition Conservative Party of Ontario under Leader John Tory has released a new Party Plan book outlining a proposal for full public funding of faith-based schools. The plan eliminates the former Conservative policy of offering parental choice in education through the use of tax credits for parents who choose to send their children to private schools…

While the proposal sounds balanced and promising, the details of the measure are sure to thwart its supposed intent, suggests the Leader of the Family Coalition Party of Ontario (FCP)…

The policy notes also, “With this direct public funding will come strict criteria and accountability requirements,” which include full incorporation of “the complete requirements of Ontario’s common curriculum.”

That curriculum, says FCP Leader Giuseppe Gori, is precisely the reason many faith-based schools have opted for private education. Gori told LifeSiteNews.com that many faith-based private schools appreciated the tax credit system implemented by former Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty under Mike Harris, which, while not offering full funding, came without controlling strings attached…

The Ontario government curriculum mandates both sex education including ‘sexual orientation’ and education on Darwinian evolution, which many faith-based schools find objectionable.

The Party Plan also mandates that schools accepting public funding would have to “appropriately address teacher credentialing.” If that language would require all faith-based schools to employ teachers only from within the Ontario teacher’s college, it would be another major obstacle for faith-based schools…

The Family Coalition Party of Ontario, the only pro-life party in the province, is proposing offering the tax credit system implemented by the former Conservative government…